FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
[0001] The present technology relates to a leak detection system for datacenter rack-mounted
processing assemblies. In particular, the present technology relates to a leak detection
system that detects and indicate presence of a leaking fluid in an immersive-cooled
rack-mounted assembly.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Electronic equipment, for example processing servers, memory banks, computer disks,
and the like, are conventionally arranged in electronic equipment racks. Large datacenters
as well as other large computing facilities may contain thousands of racks supporting
thousands or even tens of thousands of processing servers. These electronic equipment
racks typically consume large amounts of electrical power and generate significant
amounts of heat.
[0003] As such, cooling measures are employed to control the heat generated by such electronic
equipment. One such cooling measure, direct liquid cooling blocks, in particular water
cooling, has been used as an addition or replacement to traditional forced-air cooling.
Cold plates, for example water blocks having internal channels for channelized water
circulation, may be mounted on heat-generating components, such as processors, to
displace heat from the processors toward heat exchangers. Additionally, immersion
cooling (sometimes called immersive cooling) has also been employed. That is, electronic
components are inserted in a container that is fully or partially filled with a non-conducting
cooling liquid, for example an oil-based dielectric cooling liquid. Efficient thermal
contact is obtained between the electronic components and the dielectric cooling liquid.
Immersion cooling systems commonly take the form of large tanks in which the electronic
devices are submerged. In even other cooling measures, hybrid cooling systems that
involve both water cooling and immersion cooling techniques have been employed to
increase the cooling effectiveness of heat generating electronic components.
[0004] However, such liquid cooling systems may be prone to certain malfunctions, such as,
for example, water block failures, dielectric cooling liquid leakages, etc. As such,
leak detection systems for liquid-cooled electronic devices are currently being designed.
[0005] Existing cooling monitoring systems for liquid-cooled electronic devices typically
require numerous sensors and controllers with corresponding wiring that limits the
utilization of racks and adds to operating costs. Therefore, there is an interest
in developing alternative low cost, independently-addressable leak detection systems
without complicated sensors and controllers that are capable of providing sufficient
indication to an operator of the datacenter in the event of leak occurrences.
[0006] The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be
prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly,
a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter
of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized
in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different
approaches.
SUMMARY
[0007] In a first aspect of the present technology, there is provided a leak detection system
for a rack-mounted assembly. The leak detection system includes a floating unit positioned
so as to be in contact with a surface of immersive cooling liquid contained in the
rack-mounted assembly and a lever assembly mounted on the rack-mounted assembly and
operatively coupled to the floating unit. In response to a variation of a level of
the immersive cooling liquid being above a level threshold, the floating unit actuates
the lever assembly to provide visual indication that a leak is occurring.
[0008] In some non-limiting implementations, in response to the floating unit actuating
the lever assembly, the actuation causes interruption of an optical rack-mounted assembly
locator beam to indicate a location of the rack-mounted assembly.
[0009] In some non-limiting implementations, the actuation causes a first and second lever
elements to dislocate.
[0010] In some non-limiting implementations, the second lever element includes a lever portion
having an aperture that allows the optical rack-mounted assembly locator beam to travel
there through during normal operations.
[0011] In some non-limiting implementations, the lever portion obstructs the optical rack-mounted
assembly locator beam in response to the actuation of the lever assembly.
[0012] In some non-limiting implementations, the lever assembly is mounted onto the top
front face of the rack-mounted assemblies.
[0013] In some non-limiting implementations, the rack-mounted assembly requires operator
intervention to manually reset the lever assembly.
[0014] In some non-limiting implementations, at least a portion of the lever mechanism is
located above and abuts the floating unit under normal operation conditions.
[0015] In some non-limiting implementations, the variation of a level of the immersive cooling
liquid being above a level threshold is one of a surface of the immersive cooling
liquid being above a first level threshold, or a surface of the immersive cooling
liquid being below a second level threshold.
[0016] In a second aspect of the present technology, there is provided a method for detecting
presence of leaks in a datacenter rack-mounted assembly containing immersive cooling
liquid. The method includes positioning a floating unit so as to be in contact with
a surface of immersive cooling liquid contained in the rack-mounted assembly and mounting
a lever assembly on the rack-mounted assembly to be operatively coupled to the floating
unit. In response to a variation of a level of the immersive cooling liquid being
above a level threshold, the floating unit actuates the lever assembly to provide
visual indication that a leak is occurring.
[0017] In some non-limiting implementations, the method further includes indicating, to
an operator of the datacenter, a location of the rack-mounted assembly by a translation
of a lever element of the lever assembly in response to the floating unit actuating
the lever assembly.
[0018] In some non-limiting implementations, the lever element comprises a lever portion
having an aperture that allows an optical rack-mounted assembly locator beam to travel
there through during normal operations.
[0019] In some non-limiting implementations, the lever portion obstructs the optical rack-mounted
assembly locator beam in response to the actuation of the lever assembly.
[0020] In the context of the present specification, unless expressly provided otherwise,
a computer system may refer, but is not limited to, an "electronic device", an "operation
system", a "system", a "computer-based system", a "controller unit", a "monitoring
device", a "control device" and/or any combination thereof appropriate to the relevant
task at hand.
[0021] In the context of the present specification, unless expressly provided otherwise,
the expression "computer-readable medium" and "memory" are intended to include media
of any nature and kind whatsoever, non-limiting examples of which include RAM, ROM,
disks (CD-ROMs, DVDs, floppy disks, hard disk drives, etc.), USB keys, flash memory
cards, solid state-drives, and tape drives. Still in the context of the present specification,
"a" computer-readable medium and "the" computer-readable medium should not be construed
as being the same computer-readable medium. To the contrary, and whenever appropriate,
"a" computer-readable medium and "the" computer-readable medium may also be construed
as a first computer-readable medium and a second computer-readable medium.
[0022] In the context of the present specification, unless expressly provided otherwise,
the words "first", "second", "third", etc. have been used as adjectives only for the
purpose of allowing for distinction between the nouns that they modify from one another,
and not for the purpose of describing any particular relationship between those nouns.
[0023] Implementations of the present technology each have at least one of the above-mentioned
objects and/or aspects, but do not necessarily have all of them. It should be understood
that some aspects of the present technology that have resulted from attempting to
attain the above-mentioned object may not satisfy this object and/or may satisfy other
objects not specifically recited herein.
[0024] Additional and/or alternative features, aspects, and advantages of implementations
of the present technology will become apparent from the following description, the
accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present technology will become
better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying
drawings where:
Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of a datacenter rack system housing numerous rack-mounted
assemblies with a leak detection system, in accordance with the implementations of
the present disclosure;
Figure 2 depicts a perspective view of a rack-mounted assembly with a leak detection
system, in accordance with the implementations of the present disclosure;
Figure 3A depicts a schematic side view of an exemplary leak detection system of rack-mounted
assemblies in a first configuration, in accordance with the implementations of the
present disclosure;
Figure 3B depicts a schematic side view of the exemplary leak detection system of
Figure 3A in a second configuration, in accordance with the implementations of the
present disclosure; and
Figure 4 depicts a perspective view of the exemplary leak detection system of Figure
3A in accordance with the implementations of the present disclosure.
[0026] It should also be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified herein, the drawings
are not to scale.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] The examples and conditional language recited herein are principally intended to
aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present technology and not to
limit its scope to such specifically recited examples and conditions. It will be appreciated
that those skilled in the art may devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly
described or shown herein, nonetheless embody the principles of the present technology.
[0028] Furthermore, as an aid to understanding, the following description may describe relatively
simplified implementations of the present technology. As persons skilled in the art
would understand, various implementations of the present technology may be of a greater
complexity.
[0029] In some cases, what are believed to be helpful examples of modifications to the present
technology may also be set forth. This is done merely as an aid to understanding,
and, again, not to define the scope or set forth the bounds of the present technology.
These modifications are not an exhaustive list, and a person skilled in the art may
make other modifications while nonetheless remaining within the scope of the present
technology. Further, where no examples of modifications have been set forth, it should
not be interpreted that no modifications are possible and/or that what is described
is the sole manner of implementing that element of the present technology.
[0030] Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and implementations
of the present technology, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass
both structural and functional equivalents thereof, whether they are currently known
or developed in the future. Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those skilled
in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative
systems embodying the principles of the present technology.
[0031] With these fundamentals in place, we will now consider some non-limiting examples
to illustrate various implementations of aspects of the present disclosure.
[0032] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a rack system 100 for housing numerous rack-mounted
assemblies 104 with corresponding leak detection systems 200, in accordance with the
implementations of the present disclosure. As shown, the rack system 100 may include
a rack frame 102, rack-mounted assemblies 104, a liquid cooling inlet conduit 106
and a liquid cooling outlet conduit 108. The rack-mounted assemblies 104 may be oriented
vertically with respect to the rack frame 102, resembling books on a library shelf.
This arrangement may provide for mounting a large number of such rack-mounted assemblies
104 in the rack frame 102, relative to conventional arrangements, particularly with
respect to conventional arrangements of immersion-cooled rack-mounted assemblies.
[0033] Additionally, as shown, the rack system 100 may further comprise a power distribution
unit (PDU) 110 and liquid coolant inlet/outlet connectors 112. It is to be noted that
the rack system 100 may include other components such as heat exchangers, cables,
pumps or the like, however, such components have been omitted from Figure 1 for clarity
of understanding. As shown in Figure 1, the rack frame 102 may include rack shelves
103 to accommodate one or more rack-mounted assemblies 104. As noted above, the one
or more rack-mounted assemblies 104 may be arranged vertically with respect to the
rack shelves 103. In some implementations, guide members (not shown) may be used on
the rack shelves 103 to guide the rack-mounted assemblies 104 into position during
racking and de-racking, and to provide proper spacing between the rack-mounted assemblies
104 for racking and de-racking.
[0034] As further shown in Figure 1, the rack frame 102 may also include rack posts 105
to support the rack shelves 103. Mounted on the rack posts 105 are optical transmitters
202 and optical receivers 204 of which only two of each are shown for clarity. As
described more fully below, the optical transmitters 202 and optical receivers 204
are arranged to cooperate with the leak detection systems 200 to indicate a location
of overheated rack-mounted assemblies 104.
[0035] Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a rack-mounted assembly 104 with a leak detection
system 200, in accordance with the implementations of the present disclosure. As shown,
the rack-mounted assembly 104 includes a detachable frame, or "board" 118 of the electronic
device 120, and an immersion case 116 wherein the leak detection system 200 is mounted
on. The board 118 holds heat-generating electronic components 122 of the electronic
device 120 and may be immersed in the immersion cooling liquid within the immersion
case 116. Examples of heat-generating components include, but are not limited to,
central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), neural processing
units (NPUs), tensor processing units (TPUs), power supply circuitry, and application
specific integrated circuits (ASICs), including, for example, ASICs configured for
high-speed cryptocurrency mining.
[0036] Although, the immersion case 116, board 118, and electronic components 122 are shown
as separate parts, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that,
in some implementations, two or more of these components could be combined. For example,
the electronic components 122 could be fixed directly on the board 118 and/or the
immersion case 116.
[0037] It is contemplated that the electronic devices 120 may generate a significant amount
of heat. Consequently, the rack system 100 may use a cooling system to cool down the
electronic devices 120 to prevent the electronic devices 120 from being damaged. In
this implementation, the cooling system of the rack-mounted assembly 104 is a hybrid
cooling system including an immersion cooling system and a channelized cooling system.
[0038] As used herein, an immersion cooling system is a cooling system in which the electronic
device is in direct contact with a non-conductive (dielectric) cooling liquid, which
either flows over at least portions of the electronic device, or in which at least
portions of the electronic device are submerged. For example, in the rack-mounted
assembly 104, the immersion case 116 may contain an immersive cooling liquid 260 (see
Figure 3A). Further, the board 118 including the electronic components 122 may be
submerged at least in part in the immersion cooling case 116. In some implementations,
the dielectric immersion cooling liquid and the board 118 may be inserted into the
immersion case 116 via an opening 122 at the top of the immersion case 116. In some
implementations, the opening 122 may remain at least partially open during operation
of the electronic device 120, providing a non-sealed configuration for the immersion
case 116. Such non-sealed configurations may be easier to manufacture and maintain
than sealed configurations, but may be inappropriate for, e.g., two-phase systems,
in which the immersion cooling liquid may boil during operation of the electronic
device 120.
[0039] As used herein, a channelized cooling system is a cooling system in which heat-generating
components of the electronic device 120 (i.e. the electronic components 122) or the
dielectric cooling liquid are cooled using liquid cooling units, which may also be
called "cold plates" or "water blocks" (although a liquid circulating through the
"water blocks" may be any of a wide variety of known thermal transfer liquids, rather
than water), a convection-inducing structure, such as a serpentine convection coil
124 in which a flow of cooling liquid (e.g. water) is maintained may be used to cool
the dielectric cooling liquid via natural convection, or any other suitable device.
[0040] In this implementation, the immersion case 116 may also include structures or devices
for cooling the dielectric cooling liquid. For example, a convection-inducing structure,
such as a serpentine convection coil 124 in which a flow of channelized cooling liquid
(e.g. water) is maintained may be used to cool the immersion cooling liquid via natural
convection. Alternatively or additionally, a pump (not shown) may be used to circulate
the immersion cooling liquid either within the immersion case 116 or through an external
cooling system (not shown). In some implementations, a two-phase system in which immersion
cooling liquid in a gaseous phase is cooled by condensation may be used. Generally,
any technology or combination for cooling the immersion cooling liquid may be used
without departing from the principles disclosed herein. The serpentine convection
coil 124 may be omitted or replaced with other convection-inducing structures or devices
for circulating the immersion cooling liquid in some implementations.
[0041] As described more fully below, in the event that the hybrid cooling system of the
rack-mounted assembly 104 malfunctions, such as, for example, when a leak of a channelized
cooling liquid (e.g. water flowing in the serpentine coil 124 leaks in the immersion
case 116) occurs, the leak detection system 200 is able to provide visual indication
that a leak is occurring to an operator such that action may be taken to protect the
electronic device 120 from failure due to overheating or short-circuits occurring
due to leaking fluid.
[0042] Figures 3A shows an exemplary leak detection system 200 for rack-mounted assemblies
104 under normal operations (i.e. "operating" configuration), in accordance with the
implementations of the present disclosure. As shown on Figures 3a and 4, the leak
detection system 200 includes a floating unit 210 and a first, a second and a third
lever elements 250, 211, 212 that are mechanically coupled together for each electronic
device 120. The first, a second and a third lever elements 250, 211, 212 form a lever
assembly 270. As will be described in greater details herein after, upon presence
of a leaking fluid in the immersion case 116, the floating unit 210 rises and mechanically
interacts with the lever assembly 270 to switch the leak detection system 200 from
the "operating" configuration to a "failure" configuration, as shown in Figure 3B,
indicative of abnormal operation conditions (i.e. that a leak is occurring or has
occurred).
[0043] Referring back to Figure 3A, the floating unit 210 of the leak detection system 200
is placed in the dielectric immersion cooling in the immersion case 116 of a corresponding
rack-mounted assembly 104. The first lever element 250 is attached to a protective
housing 213 of the leak detection system 200, such as, for example, at a pivot point
252. A portion 254 of the first lever element 250 is located above a protruding portion
215 of the floating unit 210. In this implementation, the protruding portion 215 is
in contact with the portion 254 of the first lever element 250 under normal operation
conditions. More specifically, the floating unit 210 abuts the portion 254 and exerts
a force upwardly thereon on the first lever element 250 and therefore on a spring
218. A stiffness of the spring 218 is selected to counter the force of the floating
unit 210 against the first lever element 250. In the event of a leak of the channelized
liquid cooling into the water leaks into the oil, the floating unit 210 rises with
the surface of the immersion cooling liquid 216, depressing the spring 218 via the
lever assembly 270, as it will be described in greater details hereinafter. In the
event of a leak of the immersion cooling liquid 216, the floating unit 210 drops with
the surface of the immersion cooling liquid 216, thereby compressing the spring 218.
In both cases, the leak detection systems 200 provides visual indication of the presence
of a leak.
[0044] The second lever element 211 is attached to the protective housing 213 of the leak
detection system 200, such as, for example, at a pivot point 216. In this implementation,
the second lever 211 is maintained in position by the spring 218. In the "operating"
configuration, the first lever element 250 may be distant from the second lever element
211. The second lever element 211 is also configured to be in contact with and retains
the third lever element 212. The third lever element 212 is configured with a lever
portion 212a containing an aperture 214. As described more fully below, under normal
operations, the aperture 214 allows for an optical rack-mounted assembly locator beam
206 to travel there through. The optical rack-mounted assembly locator beam 206 originates
from the optical transmitter 202 and travels to the optical receiver 204 where it
is detected. Therefore, in normal operation, the first and second lever elements 211,
212 and the lever portion 212a of the second lever element 212 with the aperture 214
are oriented in a way that allows the optical rack-mounted assembly locator beam 206
to pass through the aperture 214.
[0045] Figure 3B shows the leak detection system 200 for under abnormal operations (i.e.
"failure" configuration), in accordance with the implementations of the present disclosure.
More specifically, Figure 3B shows the leak detection system 200 when the channelized
cooling liquid leaks into the immersion cooling liquid. When said leak occurs in the
immersion case 116, the floating unit 210 at a surface of the immersive cooling liquid
rises and abuts against the first lever element 215. In this non-limitative example,
the protruding portion 215 abuts a lower side of the portion 254. As the floating
unit 210 continues to rise, the first lever element 250 rotates around the pivot point
252 (clockwise in the illustrative example of Figure 3B) and a portion 254 of the
first lever element abuts against the second lever element 211 which in turn, rotates
around the pivot point 216. By doing so, the second lever element 211 also compresses
a spring 218 attached to the protective housing 213 of the leak detection system 200
and enables a translation of the third lever element 212 downwardly toward a final
position. For example and without limitation, the second and third lever elements
211, 212 may define hook portions that are connected to one another in the operating
configuration. Once the second lever element 212 rotates around the pivot point 216,
the hook portions may detach or dislocate from one another such that the second lever
element releases the third lever element 212.
[0046] In this implementation, when the second lever element 212 is released, the lever
portion 212a of the second lever element 212 blocks the light beam 206. When the optical
rack-mounted assembly locator beam 206 impinges the lever portion 212a, the interrupted
light beam 206 warns an operator that there is an issue with the associated rack system
100 and indicates the exact location of the rack-mounted assembly 104 where a leak
is occurring.
[0047] In some non-limiting implementations, the optical receiver 204 is connected to a
controller (not shown). When the optical rack-mounted assembly locator beam 206 is
detected by the optical receiver 204, the rack system 100 is functioning properly.
However, when the optical rack-mounted assembly locator beam 206 is cut-off, the optical
receiver 204 does not detect any light beam. In response to the absence of the light
beam, the controller may transmit an alert signal to an operator device communicably
connected thereto to indicate occurrence of an anomaly to an operator of the datacenter.
[0048] Figure 3C shows the leak detection system 200 for under abnormal operations (i.e.
"failure" configuration), in accordance with the implementations of the present disclosure.
More specifically, Figure 3C shows the leak detection system 200 when the immersion
cooling liquid leaks out of the immersion casing 216. When said leak occurs, the floating
unit 210 at a surface of the immersive cooling liquid drops and, given that the force
of the spring 218 is equal to a force of the floating unit 210 against the first lever
element 250 under normal operation conditions, the first lever element 250 rotates
around the pivot point 252 (counter-clockwise in the illustrative example of Figure
3C) and the portion 254 of the first lever element abuts against the second lever
element 211 which in turn, rotates around the pivot point 216. By doing so, the second
lever element 211 also compresses a spring 218 attached to the protective housing
213 of the leak detection system 200 and enables a translation of the third lever
element 212 downwardly toward the final position.
[0049] Therefore, it can be said that, in response to a variation of a level of the immersive
cooling liquid being above a level threshold (i.e. that said level rises above a first
level threshold or drops below a second level threshold), the floating unit 210 actuates
the lever assembly 270 that in turn provides visual indication that a leak is occurring.
In some implementations, an operator is required to manually reset the lever assembly
270. For example, the operator may push the third lever element 212 upwards. By doing
so, the third lever element 212 will push the second lever element 211 that will,
in turn, compress the spring 218. The second and third lever elements 211, 212 will
thus interlock as shown on Figure 3A.
[0050] It is to be understood that the operations and functionality of the described datacenter
leak detection system 200, its constituent components, and associated processes may
be achieved by any one or more of hardware-based, software-based, and firmware-based
elements. Such operational alternatives do not, in any way, limit the scope of the
present disclosure.
[0051] It will be further understood that, although the implementations presented herein
have been described with reference to specific features and structures, various modifications
and combinations may be made without departing from the disclosure. For example, it
is contemplated that in some implementations, two or more of the leak detection systems
described above may be used, in any combination. The specification and drawings are,
accordingly, to be regarded simply as an illustration of the discussed implementations
or implementations and their principles as defined by the appended claims, and are
contemplated to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents
that fall within the scope of the present disclosure.
1. A leak detection system (200) for a rack-mounted assembly (104), the leak detection
system (200) comprising:
a floating unit (210) positioned so as to be in contact with a surface of immersive
cooling liquid contained in the rack-mounted assembly (104); and
a lever assembly (270) mounted on the rack-mounted assembly (104) and operatively
coupled to the floating unit (210),
wherein, in response to a variation of a level of the immersive cooling liquid being
above a level threshold, the floating unit (210) actuates the lever assembly to provide
visual indication that a leak is occurring.
2. The leak detection system (200) of claim 1, wherein, in response to the floating unit
(210) actuating the lever assembly, the actuation causes interruption of an optical
rack-mounted assembly locator beam (206) to indicate a location of the rack-mounted
assembly (104).
3. The leak detection system (200) of claim 2, wherein the actuation causes a first and
second lever elements (211, 212) to dislocate.
4. The leak detection system (200) of claim 2 or 3, wherein the second lever element
(212) comprises a lever portion (212a) having an aperture (214) that allows the optical
rack-mounted assembly locator beam (206) to travel there through during normal operations.
5. The leak detection system (200) of claim 4, wherein the lever portion (212a) obstructs
the optical rack-mounted assembly locator beam (206) in response to the actuation
of the lever assembly.
6. The leak detection system (200) of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the lever assembly
is mounted onto the top front face of the rack-mounted assemblies (104).
7. The leak detection system (200) of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the rack-mounted
assembly (104) requires operator intervention to manually reset the lever assembly
(270).
8. The leak detection system (200) of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein at least a portion
of the lever mechanism is located above and abuts the floating unit under normal operation
conditions.
9. The leak detection system (200) of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the variation
of a level of the immersive cooling liquid being above a level threshold is one of:
a surface of the immersive cooling liquid being above a first level threshold, or
a surface of the immersive cooling liquid being below a second level threshold.
10. A method for detecting presence of leaks in a datacenter rack-mounted assembly (104)
containing immersive cooling liquid (260), the method comprising:
positioning a floating unit (210) so as to be in contact with a surface of immersive
cooling liquid contained in the rack-mounted assembly; and
mounting a lever assembly on the rack-mounted assembly (104) to be operatively coupled
to the floating unit (210),
wherein, in response to a variation of a level of the immersive cooling liquid being
above a level threshold, the floating unit (210) actuates the lever assembly to provide
visual indication that a leak is occurring.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising indicating, to an operator of the datacenter,
a location of the rack-mounted assembly (104) by a translation of a lever element
(212) of the lever assembly in response to the floating unit (210) actuating the lever
assembly.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the lever element (212) comprises a lever portion
(212a) having an aperture (214) that allows an optical rack-mounted assembly locator
beam (206) to travel there through during normal operations.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the lever portion (212a) obstructs the optical rack-mounted
assembly locator beam (206) in response to the actuation of the lever assembly.
Amended claims in accordance with Rule 137(2) EPC.
1. A leak detection system (200) for a rack-mounted electronic processing assembly (104),
the leak detection system (200) comprising:
a floating unit (210) positioned so as to be in contact with a surface of immersive
cooling liquid contained in the rack-mounted assembly (104), the floating unit (210)
including a protruding portion (215); and
a lever assembly (270) mounted on the rack-mounted assembly (104) and operatively
coupled to the floating unit (210), the lever assembly (270) comprising:
a first lever element (250) having an upper portion (254) disposed above the protruding
portion (215) of the floating unit (210) and lower portion coupled to a first pivot
point (252);
a second lever element (211) having a surface disposed proximate to the lower portion
of the first lever element (250), the second lever element (211) having an upper portion
coupled to a second pivot point (216) and a lower portion;
a third lever element (212) having an upper portion that mechanically engages the
lower portion of the second lever element (211) and a lower portion (212a) that incorporates
an aperture (214) to enable an optical locator beam to pass therethrough;
wherein, in response to a variation of a level of the immersive cooling liquid being
above a level threshold, the floating unit (210) actuates the lever assembly (270)
to provide visual indication that a leak is occurring.
2. The leak detection system (200) of claim 1, wherein, in response to the floating unit
(210) actuating the lever assembly, the actuation causes interruption of the optical
locator beam (206) passage to indicate a location of the rack-mounted assembly (104).
3. The leak detection system (200) of claims 1 or 2, wherein the actuation causes a the
second and third lever elements (211, 212) to dislocate from mechanical engagement.
4. The leak detection system (200) of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lever assembly
is mounted onto the top front face of the rack-mounted assemblies (104).
5. The leak detection system (200) of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rack-mounted
assembly (104) requires operator intervention to manually reset the lever assembly
(270).
6. The leak detection system (200) of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the variation
of a level of the immersive cooling liquid being above the level threshold is one
of:
a surface of the immersive cooling liquid being above a first level threshold, or
a surface of the immersive cooling liquid being below a second level threshold.
7. A method for detecting presence of leaks in a datacenter rack-mounted electronic processing
assembly (104) containing immersive cooling liquid (260), the method comprising:
positioning a floating unit (210) so as to be in contact with a surface of immersive
cooling liquid contained in the rack-mounted assembly; and
mounting a lever assembly (270) on the rack-mounted assembly (104) to be operatively
coupled to the floating unit (210), the lever assembly comprising:
a first lever element (250) having an upper portion (254) disposed above the protruding
portion (215) of the floating unit (210) and lower portion coupled to a first pivot
point (252);
a second lever element (211) having a surface disposed proximate to the lower portion
of the first lever element (250), the second lever element (211) having an upper portion
coupled to a second pivot point (216) and a lower portion;
a third lever element (212) having an upper portion that mechanically engages the
lower portion of the second lever element (211) and a lower portion (212a) that incorporates
an aperture (214) to enable an optical locator beam to pass therethrough;
wherein, in response to a variation of a level of the immersive cooling liquid being
above a level threshold, the floating unit (210) actuates the lever assembly to provide
visual indication that a leak is occurring.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising indicating, to an operator of the datacenter,
a location of the rack-mounted assembly (104) by a translation of a lever element
(212) of the lever assembly in response to the floating unit (210) actuating the lever
assembly.
9. The method of claims 7 or 8, wherein the lever portion (212a) obstructs the optical
rack-mounted assembly locator beam (206) in response to the actuation of the lever
assembly to indicate a location of the rack-mounted assembly (104).
10. (New) The method of any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the variation of a level of
the immersive cooling liquid being above the level threshold is one of:
a surface of the immersive cooling liquid being above a first level threshold, or
a surface of the immersive cooling liquid being below a second level threshold.